On Tuesday, Eric Melgren, Kansas' U.S. Attorney since 2002, will appear before a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday to seek confirmation to the federal judiciary to replace U.S. District Judge Monti Belot of Wichita.

Just getting the committee hearing was something miraculous. The committee date came after Sen. Sam Brownback appealed earlier this month to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Commitee asking for Melgren to be given a chance to be heard.

The confirmation however may be out of reach. The Senate is due to adjourn before a vote can take place. Brownback is appealing again, this time for a rules exception that would speed the vote.

Melgren has the support of both Kansas Senators Brownback and Pat Roberts, and as U.S. Attorney, he’s also earned the highest rating possible from the American Bar Association. The ABA has yet to give him a judicial rating, however.

He  has dramatically expanded the number of federal prosecutions here. A Republican nominated by President Bush, Melgren has filed more than 700 prosecutions during the first eight months of this fiscal year alone.

Congress is expected to adjourn either at the end of this week or early next week so members can return to their districts to campaign. Typically, the Senate allows a week after the initial hearing to allow interested parties to weigh in on a particular nomination before voting on a nominee.

Brownback has asked his colleagues to waive that week-long comment period in Melgren’s case.

Besides his aggressive federal prosecutions, Melgren also has been a strong supporter of hefty minimum sentences for convicted offenders. In a 2004 op-ed piece in the Wichita Eagle, he pointed out that it would be counterproductive to reform sentencing laws to help alleviate prison overcrowding.

“Crime is down because prison populations are up,” he wrote. “Our neighborhoods are safer because tough sentencing laws are working.”

Melgren is a former partner in the Wichita law firm of Foulston Siefkin, LLP. He graduated from Wichita State University before earning his law degree at Washburn University School of Law.

Brownback, a longtime friend and political ally, has described Melgren as an “outstanding nominee," and is encouraging Senate approval of his confirmation.

But the problem may have been President Bush's decision to wait until too late to nominate Melgren and more than a dozen other judicial nominees, apparently knowing that the confirmations were unlikely to take place. Melgren was nominated last June.

According to a report in the Topeka Capital-Journal, Melgren, a personal friend of Brownback's, is a strong supporter of the Patriot Act and a member of the Federalist Society.

The Week in Review